GO LIONS!

England 1
USA 1

People really need to calm the fuck down. England drew their first game. It's definitely not the end of the world (cup). They haven't been knocked out of the competition, they are still in it, and very much alive! The Americans were always going to give the English a tough game. Let's not forget, that this is the same American side, which only last year, beat Spain in the Confederations Cup and led by two goals against the Brazilians in the Confederations Cup Final (although eventually losing 3-2). This is also the same side that beat Guus Hiddink's Russia, given that the Russians are a tight, well-drilled, typical of Guus Hiddink's sides themselves, that victory shouldn't go unnoticed or downplayed either, or any less appreciated. The Americans demanded respect going into this game, and they showed yesterday exactly why!

I have had it up to my tits with these posers and pretenders who call themselves England fans, but don't even realize what it truly takes to call yourself a decent or a true fan! It takes a lot to be a fan of a FOOTBALL team than just wearing the shirt, buying team merchandise, spouting ridiculous, uneducated and ignorant garbage about the team, celebrating their victories but condemning their defeats and the rest of the stuff these prawn-sandwich-eating-couch-potatoes get upto in trying to bamboozle the world and most of all themselves, into believing that they can call themselves a FAN. You stick to your team, you don't GIVE stick to your team. You stick it through the great times and the difficuilt times, without having to turn on your own players and ridiculously criticizing them and using them as a scapegoat for the TEAM'S failure. Football is a team game. The individuals make up a sum of a whole. Sure, you need individual skill and talent to push through certain games, but most of all, football is a team game.

What happened yesterday was a freak mistake. Yes, it was a routine catch, and Green really shouldn't have made a meal of it, and is being rightly asked questions of, but to condemn him and criticize him to the extent of which people are doing right now, that is just simply unacceptable and highly deplorable if you ask me, and just goes to show you how some fans can be extremely fickle and they need to seriously ask questions of themselves if they deserve to wear that shirt and chant the player's names and sing their songs. It is a very sad reflection on the state of some fans out there today, and I can't say I am not disappointed. The pitch was watered down, the ball was slippery as it is, and the Jabulani (official World Cup ball) is already notorious in it's premature stage for it's unpredictability and movement in the air, and a lot of famous names have already complained about it and reported it. Mistakes happen. It was a human error. Yes, he should have collected it. And yes, he fumbled it and made a meal of it. But for fuck's sake, get off his back! Don't shatter his already fragile confidence, instead, get behind the poor bloke, put an arm around him, give him some words of encouragement and challenge him to make up for his mistake. Get behind him, support him, push him, instead of berating him and battering him with negative criticism.

Fact is, England were average at best yesterday. Heskey did a pretty decent job, setting up the first goal for Gerrard, winning a fair share of headers against the American centre-halves, making sure he was a real presence up front, leaving Rooney largely anonymous (that ALONE should tell you what an excellent job he did) and he justified his call-up to the squad, let alone the starting-XI. Captain Fantastic Steven Gerrard was superb throughout, as we have come to expect from our Captain. He wore his heart on his sleeves in the shape of that Captain's arm-band, and delivered an excellent performance. Ledley King was all over the place, and so was Jamie Carragher when he can came on for King and was exposed for his lack of pace down the right flank. Good riddance to the former, we don't need injury-prone, fragile players who can't hack it for more than a half in our squad anyway (probably bit harsh I know, but hey, he's a spud, I can't ever defend a Spud, =D). Carra should be promoted to centre-half position alongside Terry, because that is the best possible pairing we have available right now. Both the full-backs Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson were solid at the back and productive when going forward, but Capello I suspect has instructed them both not to be too adventurous down the flanks and leave themselves exposed at the back. Lampard didn't have the best of games, he wasn't his usual reliable-self, and I personally think he really struggled to pick out the right pass at the right time and found it tough to distribute the ball around. Aaron Lennon was largely ineffective, just a one-trick pony, running around like a headless chicken with no real final delivery or product at the end of it. James Milner, on his World Cup debut, a surprise selection ahead of Joe Cole to start on the left flank really struggled. He was found wanting down that flank, which isn't his preferred position anyway. Milner played through the middle at Villa where O'Neill deployed him and got the best out of him this past season, and that is where I think he should be played or switched to the right flank. He got booked early on, couldn't keep up with the pace or the occasion, and was rightly taken off by Capello before more damage could be done. Wazza (Wayne Rooney) was largely anonymous upfront, but he didn't really get any real service to work with. He ran down the channels, made the proper runs, dropped deep to be more involved with the play and collected the ball to try and fashion something himself. I think he did struggle with the lack of service however, and I expect him to get better as the competition progresses.

To conclude, I am fairly pleased with the result yesterday, and I firmly believe it is a point gained, rather than a couple dropped. This was the first game of the competition, expectations were rife (fueled largely by the sensational British media and ridiculous fans), it was an intimidating occasion and only the first group game. Slovenia and Algeria are up next, and I really believe and expect England to turn these sides over. They won't go on a scoring spree if that's what you think I am insinuating, but they will certainly defeat them both and qualify to the next knockout stages. A lot is riding on this English side this time around, and people from all corners have been talking about their chances in this year's World Cup. They are a decent looking side, with a decent manager and a huge fan base. This is definitely within England's reach and capability. And we really ought to get behind the team right now and stay optimistic!

COME ON THE THREE LIONS! GET IN!